Workers’ Rights Under the COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing ETS

Emergency Temporary Standard

OSHA’s COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) covers employers with 100 or more employees and requires them to take steps to minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission in the workplace. The Occupational Safety and Health Act protects workers from retaliation for exercising their rights under the ETS.

Workplace Protections: Vaccination, Testing, and Face Coverings

Employees of employers covered by the ETS have a right to the protections afforded by the standard’s requirements. Key requirements employers must follow to protect these employees include:

Employer Policy on Vaccination. The ETS requires covered employers to establish, implement, and enforce a written mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy with an exception for employers that instead establish, implement, and enforce a written policy that requires unvaccinated employees to undergo weekly COVID-19 testing and wear a face covering at the workplace instead of vaccination.

Determination of employee vaccination status. The ETS requires covered employers to determine the vaccination status of each employee, obtain acceptable proof of vaccination status, and maintain records and a roster of each employee’s vaccination status.

Employer support for employee vaccination. The ETS requires covered employers to support vaccination by providing employees reasonable time, including up to four hours of paid time at the employee’s regular rate of pay, to receive each vaccination dose, and reasonable time and paid sick leave to recover from any side effects experienced following each dose.

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